Various items and objects are secured in a location, and are often transported from one location to another in numerous different types of vehicles, such as cars, trucks, and trailers. It is important for safety reasons to secure cargo, especially carried by a vehicle to prevent injury or damage to people, the vehicle, the vehicle's occupants, other vehicles, and areas where the cargo-carrying vehicle travels or wherever the cargo is stored.
In order to achieve this object, many diverse solutions have been offered.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,276,702 relates to a clothes line stretcher and has for an object the provision of a device which may be applied to the line at any convenient point and which is reportedly readily operable to remove the slack from the line.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,279,759 relates to line tightening devices and is especially concerned with a tightening device by means of which slack in a line is reportedly automatically taken up and a set amount of tension maintained in the line. The device has a tightener of the type which reportedly can be used in company with a rope or chain which is used to tie down heavy loads on a vehicle such as lumber, pipes, crates or in fact any kind of object which needs to be roped or chained to a vehicle and under circumstances where, as the vehicle jogs over a road, the rope or chain is apt to become loose enough to allow the load to be dislodged.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,359 relates to a stretching screw comprising two attachment sections arranged for displacement relative one another and having a stop means arranged in the second attachment section so as to prevent turning movements of said second attachment section relative to said first attachment section upon displacement of said sections relative to one another. The stretching screw is self-locking and may be reportedly adjusted with one hand with the aid of e.g. a spanner.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,147 relates to a U-strap that mounts a nut between the legs of the strap for rotation perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the strap. The nut is provided with a threaded bore which threadably receives an adjustment sleeve. The adjustment sleeve is also threaded internally reversely to its external threads and threadably receives a stud connected to or constituting a first member to be placed under tension with respect to a second member coupled to or constituting the strap. The turnbuckle is reportedly useful in mounting standard wire or rod rigging on a sailboat or sailing yacht.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,729 relates to a tie-down device for securing and holding down cargo and the like. The device includes a turnbuckle. A strap is provided having a first end and a second end that are secured to the turnbuckle, so as to loop back on itself and defining a loose strap and a stationary strap. A first hook is carried by the turnbuckle. A second hook is carried by the strap between the loose and stationary straps. Rotation of the turnbuckle in a first tightening direction wraps the loose strap around the stationary strap, shortening the loose strap for tightening the device and securing and holding down the cargo and the like and also locking the loose strap in place. Rotation of the turnbuckle in a second loosening direction unwraps the loose strap from around the stationary strap, lengthening the loose strap for untightening the device and unsecuring and releasing the cargo and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,751 relates to a tie-down device for securing cargo bindings. The device includes a housing unit with a hollow cavity therein. A threaded screw extending through the bore of the cavity and projecting through an opening in a closed end of the housing unit and secured to a threaded fastener. The invention further includes a threaded nut and capture assembly fixedly attached to the opposing end of the threaded screw that is able to extend and retract through an open end of the housing unit. The threaded screw can be turned to a first position projecting the capture assembly through the open end to either capture or loosen bindings. The threaded screw can be turned to a second position causing the secured bindings to be retracted into the housing unit facilitating their tightening.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,454 relates to a hand held strap winder has an oval, planar base with a hand grip, a hub on which the strap is wound and a strap guide aligned on the major axis of the oval base.
U.S. Publication No. 2007/0122247 relates to a cargo tightener and strap collector having a rotatable shaft provided on the lever portion of the cargo tightener and strap collector. A slot is provided in the shaft so that the free end of a strap may be inserted in the slot and wound on the shaft to secure the strap and reportedly prevent its fluttering in the wind or trailing on the ground while in use.
European Patent No. 0 816 250 relates to a method for binding timber packages in particular into reportedly suitable tight and firm packages. Another object of the invention is a device which is used to implement the method. The device comprises a body part (1) similar to a cotton reel and flanges (3) integral with it. According to the invention, the body part (1) comprises an axial slot (2) that goes through the body part, for threading the ends of the tie through it, and at least two radial bores (3) which penetrate the body part and preferably form a 90 degree angle with one another, located in the axial direction spaced from one another, for receiving separate tightening and locking members (7).
In view of the above there remains a need for an adaptable binding strap device that is useful for securing cargo of various size and types to different vehicles, quickly and safely.